


The Southern Continent

by twin_twig1213



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Blood and Violence, Magic, Magic Guild, Original Characters - Freeform, Other, Violence, Wizard, fairy tail - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 05:53:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21094469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twin_twig1213/pseuds/twin_twig1213
Summary: The tales about the adventures of the wizards in Fiore, as well as the entire eastern continent, Ishgar, are legendary. But, there are more stories to be told in other ends of the world. Unfortunately for the mages, however, these tales don't always include the best of times. Join a wizard who can't remember his past and a wizard that ignores hers in their journey to find out what plans life has for them.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A Fairy Tail Fanfiction. This takes place after the manga's completion (although it doesn't really matter). Fairy Tail is the work of Hiro Mashima.  
Rated Mature (for language and minor gore)  
!! Author's Note: I'm just posting the first part of this story to see how well it goes over; reviews are appreciated !!

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Southern continent of Mer: Narval, Baleine.

"Excuse me," asked a boy, "do you know where the Greenfield Fortress is?"

The coffee vendor looked at the strange boy with a quizzical expression. The rain was pouring hard, yet the boy with the dark clothes had no umbrella. He was a foreigner, the vendor assumed, for his pale flesh did not match the usual brown skin tone of the natives here. "You don' wanna go o'er there, boy," the vendor warned, "it'll be trouble."

The boy nodded in understanding, showing the slightest sign of regret. "I have a meeting."

The vendor gave a single, loud hackle. "A meetin'! Well don' le' me stop ya!" The vendor pointed towards the right, and instructed the boy to take one more right, then a left to reach his destination. "Good luck to ya, boy."

The young man nodded his head in thanks, then continued on his walk. He travelled all the way from the country over, Requin, to get here, but he was still unsure of whether it was the right call. However, it was his last foreseeable option- his only choice. He wiped his black curls from his eyes and fixed his wet robes. The dark pants he stole were too long for his legs, so he had to role the cuffs up, and at this point, his black poncho was more annoying than useful at lessening the effects of the rain. He sighed and took the right turn.

It was only half past six in the afternoon, but the sun was completely set and the white moon was climbing its way up the sky. The boy would personally prefer it be day for a meeting like his. He took the left turn.

He could see it now, the once magnificent concrete mansion- nicknamed the Greenfield Fortress- now covered in graffiti with half it's windows broken and the other half merely cracked. Maybe at one point, the land on which it was built was lush with green grass, but it was now barren- brown and yellow with infertile soil and decaying foliage. He wasn't sure if it was like this before or after the dark guild took residence there; it was probably after.

He reached the door, and wondered why the wood smelt so pungently of urine. He then shook his head of the thought of **how **it smelt like urine. He raised his fist, and hesitated for the slightest moment before knocking. After waiting a full minute, he knocked again. He didn't know why he expected this guild to have manners, but he was very disappointed that they didn't.

He was about to knock for a third time before the door abruptly opened, and a very large, circular wizard appeared. His body was shaped like an egg, with a head pinched at the top. Ha had almost no chin or neck, and he was extremely bottom heavy, with relatively fat legs and extremely thin arms. It seemed as though he was honestly struggling holding the large bottle of liquor in his hand.

"Whaddya want?" he slurred, obviously drunk. His eyes were bloodshot and barely open, and his stance was wobbly.

"I want to see the Guild Master," the boy replied, trying to keep his voice leveled and his face calm.

The man looked at him with a sudden intensity, eyes unblinking and nostrils flared. He remained in this state of seriousness for half a minute, then burst into laughter. What is it with people in this town having a fit every time the boy said something? The man opened the door widely and gestured the guest indoors. "Good luck wi'that!" He continued laughing as he staggered away drunkenly.

He sighed and continued on his way, stepping into the mansion that smelt like mold and booze. He passed by many of the guild members, each either giving him no attention, the side-eye, or just snickering at his sight. All of them drinking, however. He didn't know exactly where he was going, but he walked in the widest hallway, drenching the already mud-stained carpet with his soaked leather boots.

As he climbed up the staircase, a large metal throne began to come into view, it's back almost touching the high ceiling. Sitting upon that throne was a man that the boy assumed to be the guild's master, as there were various other chairs seating several people that just didn't have the same respect.

The man was relatively young by Guild Master standards, dressed in clothes much to old for him- a long violet robe with clean dress shoes and large purple hat that looked like he stole it from the pope. He pointed a long, ringed finger at the approaching visitor and spoke with a confident, booming voice. "Who the fuck are you supposed to be?"

Internally, the boy wanted to turn right around a go back to his own dump. He couldn't believe he stooped so low as to come to a dark guild's help. Externally, though, he tried to keep his face calm- no emotion. "Someone who needs your help."

The Master scoffed and rolled his eyes, then waved his hands downwards. "Kneel."

The dark haired boy roled his eyes, but did as was told. "Master Helmer," he repeated, "I plead for your help."

This obviously pleased the man; his smirk was clear. "You didn't answer my question," he said arrogantly, his power getting to his head, "who are you?" He glared at the younger man, daring him to object to his orders now.

He didn't want to disclose his name to the dark guild, for he didn't know exactly how his relationship with them will turn out. Regardless of that, he didn't even like the name he chose. "I'm Dewd."

"Eh?"

"Dewd."

Helmer stared at the boy in front of him, speechless. In fact, he was speechless because he was chuckling. Again with the fucking giggles. "What kind of stupid-ass name is that?!" He hit one of his comrades in the shoulder and continued to point at the kneeling boy mockingly. "Ah, we needed a good laugh here." He feigned wiping a tear from his eyes. "Now, how the fuck can I help you?"

"I heard that you have a mage specializing memory magic."

The Guild Master's eyebrow raised. "I do."

"I was hoping that they could help me with something." He didn't know if he could stand up yet. He wanted to, his right knee began to hurt.

"What's the matter, boy, you got amnesia?" Helmer asked.

"Yeah, I do," Dewd admitted honestly, "a severe case, actually." He stood up, tired of playing the 'respectful servant' part.

"A severe case, you say," chimed another voice. From behind the large chair, an extremely intoxicated blonde haired young man tripped into view. "I haven't had a severe case in-" he took a swing from the bottle in his hands "- in a while."

"Behold, the great Memory Mage- Bedlam," scoffed Helmer, "you sure you want **him **picking around in your head."

"Hey!" Bedlam giggled, poking Helmer's cheek, "I'm good." Bedlam, this two meter tall lanky giant, sauntered over towards Dewd, draping his arm over the smaller boy. His skin was the typical bronze color that this country's people had, but his hair was odd: long straight and blond, tied in a messy bun atop his head. His eyes were sharp, contrary to his drunken state, with red orbs seeming to scrutinize Dewd's face. "What seems to be the problem, lil' boy."

Dewd grimaced at the pungent smell of alcohol and sweat, and shrugged off the taller boy's arm. He stepped backwards, suddenly conscious of what seemed to be the entirety of the guild standing all around the interaction. The egg shaped one blocked the exit, and was staring blankly at the boy, as if the egg was being entranced by him. "I need your help regaining my memories."

Bedlam's continued to step towards Dewd. The younger boy looked at the Guild Master to find him mildly amused by the situation. "I dunno if you've heard, lil' boy, but we 'ere aren't the nicest guild," he raised his fist in the air, "Sinister Souls!" The other members of the guild hollered in response. "We don't do any favors without something in return." He backed Dewd into a wall, and bent down to be face-to-face, blocking his exists with his arms. "Whaddya have to offer in return?"

Dewd kept his face expressionless, not that he felt scared at all, just very bothered. He knew what these guys were all about: intimidating anyone who comes their way in hopes of getting all they can from them. Jokes on them, Dewd had nothing.

He glared daggers Bedlam, daring him to do anything. "What do you want?"

Bedlam patted Dewd's face a couple times, then grabbed him by the back of his neck, pushing him towards his Guild Master. "I like him, Master H!"

The master in question nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, he seems desperate enough," he added, "maybe we could strike a bargain." He sat foreword, elbows on his royal knees. "You heard o' that pathetic guild called Berry Blaze?"


	2. Chapter 2

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Mer: Narval, Baleine

He stepped out of the foul-smelling guild and into a light drizzling sky. He never thought that he appreciated fresh air more in his life. He hated it in there, and he hated the people even more. They were vulgar, smelly, and are now making him walk; that's about the worst qualities a person can have.

Dewd begrudgingly continued on his new mission, walking towards the same coffee vendor that he had met half an hour earlier. "Hello," he began, "where is the Berry Blaze guild?"

The vendor lowered the mixer his was cleaning and stared, dumbfounded at the boy. "What're you doin', sneakin' around all our guilds here?" He whipped his dirt rag in Dewd's direction. "You some kinda councilman?"

"I'm just looking for some help," Dewd answered, slightly annoyed at the man's tendency to put his nose in his business.

The vendor pointed behind him. "Keep walkin' on that way until ya see some big ol' Cathedral, then go right. The guild's at the end."

Again, Dewd thanked the man and marched on. He didn't like what he was about to do- he was appalled by it. But he needed to know who he is and where he came from, or at least find out some clues. He didn't care what he had to do to get it.

\--

After he reached the beautiful grand Cathedral, he veered right and landed in front of a park. Temer Park. It ran the length of the road, and Dewd could see the guild's ugly banner at the end of the park. It was closed for the day, but he thought that he might as well walk on soft grass, protected from the light rain by the many tree branches hanging overhead.

Dewd looked around, making sure no one was watching, then jumped over the fence with a little magical kick, his black poncho flapping like a cape around him. Obviously, he landed in mud, further dirtying his already worn-out boots. He brushed his curls out of his eyes and continued on his path.

It was a very odd park, with trees of varying species and a long, confusing path for people to avoid walking on some grassy areas. He passed by a small market and looked at the window, seeing the face he had grown accustomed to for the past year and a half. The long black curls that always got in his large dark eyes, which were perpetually surrounded by gray circles. He had a soft jaw, sharp nose and chin, and almost sickly pale skin dotted with too many spots to count. Waking up to a face you don't remember having- that isn't an ideal situation.

He shrugged off the thoughts and resumed walking. Unexpectedly, he saw flashes in the distance, accompanied by feint chatter. The curiosity proved to be too much for Dewd, and he moved closer towards the source. The guild wasn't going anywhere.

Trying to make as little sound as possible, he snuck behind trees and bushes in an effort to find out exactly what was making all the noise.

"Now look to your right and pretend to smell the roses," said the photographer, as she took about a hundred more pictures of the model bending down to sniff a flower on rose bush.

There were five people there in total: a naked model, the photographer, two people holding the extremely large light sources, and someone who seemed to be the costume designer, who watched the revealing fabric the model was wearing like a hawk to a mouse.

"I need higher light," grumbled the photographer, and one of them tried to lift his flashlight even higher. The thing looked heavy- Dewd felt bad. The other one with the light looked utterly done with her job, as she repeatedly yawned and rolled her eyes throughout the thousands of pictures taken.

She raised her arm in a stretching position, and on it, Dewd recognized the Berry Blaze guild mark on her triceps- a cherry eclipsing the sun. At that point, Dewd couldn't believe that something was finally going his way, even if it was for an unpleasant situation such as this.

After waiting for ten minutes, and finally hearing the photographer say "take five", Dewd crawled further into the darkness, concealing his face with the hood of his poncho. He watched as the nude model put on a robe and was waited on by the rest of the crew. Eventually, a man in a similar attire joined her.

The girl with the guild mark grabbed a random chair and carried it a few meters away from all the commotion. Dewd managed to remain unseen as he followed -stalked- her, staying under the cover of bushes and tree bark. He had about two more minutes before their break was over, and he needed to take the girl before then. He heard her mutter something to herself, and saw her standing up, possibly to return to the photo shoot.

Fuck it, might as well try something. He needed her.

"Hello," Dewd said awkwardly, taking off his poncho. He wore nothing but a gray sleeveless shirt underneath.

"Who're you?" the girl asked. She was shorter than him, about average height, so maybe he could overpower her? No, that would cause too much of a scene. She tightened the white bandanna in her hair and adjusted the long green dress she wore.

Dewd hesitated for a second too long. "I'm the male model." He suddenly realized he had to commit to the role, so he thrusted his crotch forward, raised his chin, and put his right hand on his hips.

The girl sized him up, stepping foreword to make sure the boy could see her staring him down. "Shouldn't you be a little more naked?"

"We're outside. And it's raining."

"The porno's called: Couple Bangs Outdoors in the Rain. Did you expect anything else?" This close, Dewd could finally see what she looked like. She had extremely coiled, bright brown hair with copper colored skin and a splash of freckles across her nose, cheeks, and forehead. Her build was averagely lean, but she held herself with the assumption that she could kick anyone'a ass. She examined Dewd with sharp gray, thinly shaped eyes, and a slight grimace of her full lips. "What's your name?"

In a moment of weakness, Dewd flinched, which was the exact sign she needed.

In a swift sudden movement, she pushed him to the ground, and in preparation for screaming, she opened her jaw. However, Dewd was used to this. The first few weeks of his sudden awakening, after the initial moments of shock and confusion, he began to explore his capabilities, casting various spells and testing his limits to become familiar with his body. With a big gulf of air, he ate whatever sound there was in the surrounding atmosphere.

The girl looked at him in shock, thinking that he took away her sense of hearing. She couldn't hear the drops of rain or the leaves rustling in the light wind. She couldn't even hear her own voice. Suddenly, Dewd jumped to his feet opened his palms, and before his victim could react, he clapped her ears, adding his magic to knock her out.

As she fell, he caught her, hoisted her up, and ran towards the fence. He didn't care if he was heard or seen. He didn't even care if he was the bad guy. He was getting his memories back.

So he jumped over the large fence, expelling the sound he ate from his feet, and ran towards Greenfield Fortress.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Mer: Narval, Baleine

The rain ceased, but the unconscious girl over Dewd's shoulder and her annoying dress in his face more than made up for it. He knocked on the door, but after waiting a mere ten seconds, he huffed angrily and gave up, instead placing his hand within the keyhole and allowing the sound waves he expelled to rupture the widgets in the lock. He then kicked the door open and marched on towards Helmer. This time, he didn't care about the pestering gazes of the dark guild members.

"Well, look who's back, Master H!" exclaimed Bedlam, applauding mockingly. He got off of his seat next to the Guild Master's chair and walked towards the boy. This time, he actually walked in a straight line. "And he brought a girl, no less!" Bedlam licked his lips. "What're we supposed to do with her?"

"Bedlam," called Helmer, who had a smirk forming on his lips, "don't be foul." Even though he didn't take his eyes off the girl since he saw her. He waved his hands over to the duo. "Cuff 'er."

Eggy the egg shaped human skipped over happily, binding her with magic sealing stone. "Thanks for helpin' me out," Eggy said, hiding his grin from the boy,

Dewd set her gently on the ground. "What're you going to do with her?" He asked.

"Nothing serious," teased the Head Master, "just a little bit of leverage."

"Berry Blaze's been a buzzkill," Bedlam said.

A small giggle was heard coming from the girl on the floor. "You're gonna use **me **as leverage for BB? Good luck with that you pieces of shits." She sat up groggily and buffed up her chest.

Dewd was shocked that the girl had that much confidence and trust in her guild. He found himself hoping that her guild **did** save her, and realized that the guilt for what he had done grew in his chest.

"And **you**," the girl began, turning towards Dewd with flared nostrils and a death glare, "I'm gonna kill you myself for this." She continued to stare at him, but it somehow shifted: changing from determination and anger to confusion. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Dewd couldn't help it. Why did he do it? Why did he kidnap an innocent girl just so he could get what he wanted. He surely could have found another way- another wizard. Why did he act so selfish. "I-I'm sorry I did this to you," was all he could muster. From the corner of his eye, he could see the Guild Master grinning.

"A little too late for that," the girl spat back.

The egg popped up and forced the girl out of the room, then Bedlam walked towards Dewd and guided him to a chair. "You should get comfy, lil' boy."

"What?"

"You held out your end o' the deal, it's time we do ours."

He didn't have time to think or act, and the mage didn't bother to ask for Dewd's permission. Bedlam placed his both his hands on either side of the boy's head, and cast his spell, forming two seals at the ends of each of his hands.

He felt nothing but the surge of foreign magical energy in him. "When's the spell go-"

\--

Dewd woke up to utter whiteness. The circular room he was in had a white floor, wall, and ceiling- there was not a speck of anything else. At first, this stung his eyes painfully, but as time progressed he began to draw a sense of peace from his surroundings. Outside was always too loud, anyway.

"You like it?" whispered a voice that came from no where. "Most people find it unsettling." The voice was an oddly familiar tone- flirtation with a hint of poison. Must be Bedlam.

"What is this?" Dewd tried to look down at his body, but he has none. It was an odd feeling being in touch with all your sense but having no idea how. Maybe **this **was the unsettling part

"Le'me explain my magic, lil' boy," Bedlam began, "I work by linkin' your conscious to the subconscious, which let's you get control of the sub. You can do whatever the hell you want here."

Firstly, Dewd summoned a body, which to his surprise actually worked, right down to the many moles on his skin. His clothes appeared not a moment later: black trousers, gray sleeveless shirt, dark brown leather boots, and a black poncho. For some reason, he felt like a god in this room. "How do I get my memories?"

"Make 'em tangible," Bedlam replied nonchalantly, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Dewd rolled his eyes (or at least the projection of his eyes), but did as was told. The first thing that popped into his mind were two chests: one of memories collected from the last year and a half, and one containing everything before. The boy was suddenly aware of the physical chests in front of him, one sealed with various widgets and locks, and one with nothing but a simple switch.

"Only two? That's weird," Bedlam sounded.

Hesitantly, Dewd walked to the second and carefully opened it. Suddenly, images of events that took place over the eighteen months he remembered flashed before his eyes, each a single image that invoked a wave of impressions and emotions, each one ranging from pleasant to dreadful. He shut the chest immediately- he had seen enough. Any longer and he would have relived the event already branded in his brain.

However, hopefully the same thing could happen with the other chest, and he could finally stop using this dumb-ass name.

But he couldn't walk there. Not because he was scared or worried about the person that he was- he physically could not walk there. Something was stopping him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm not doin' anythin'; if you can't open it, that's your fault." Dewd could feel bedlam trying to break the spell. "I did my part."

"No!" Dewd yelled. His corporal projection was fading bit by bit, like layers of moss being peeled off a stone. His poncho disappeared, then his shirt. He couldn't let it continue. "We're not done here!" he screamed, but it wasn't his voice- it was deeper, but somehow feminine.

"Wha-" on the other hand, Bedlam's voice began to lose confidence. "Why can't I- what're you doin'?!"

"You- you said I could do anything here," Dewd explained in the same unfamiliar voice, "I'm bringing you down here."

Suddenly, the mage appeared before him, with an expression of horror plastered on his face. He tried to speak many times before he found his voice. "You shouldn't be able to-"

"Open the fucking chest!" Dewd was changing. He didn't know how he knew, but he could feel something stirring inside him.

Bedlam's eyes widened, and he backed away slowly from the mage's overpowering his magic. "Wha- what's wrong with your neck?"

Dewd had no idea what it looked like, but he experienced the sensation emerging from there. It started at the base of his throat, then slowly crawled up his neck to his chin, eventually making its way up his nose until his forehead. In addition, it flowed outwards from his neck, covering both shoulders, and sinking down to his rib cage. When he looked at his chest, he saw only deep blackness where he felt the power. Did it look like this on his neck and face, too?

By the look on Bedlam's face, it sure as hell did.

"Open the Goddamn chest!"

Horrified, the mage walked slowly to the over sealed chest and began his attempts. Unlike Dewd, he was actually able to touch it. That **meant** something- it meant he could do it!

But after what seemed like an eternity of tries, he couldn't get it opened.

"Why won't you open it?" Dewd demanded.

"I told you: I can't do anything here! This is **your **head!"

Does this mean Dewd can't get his memories anymore? "Y- you're lying, aren't you!" He sunk to his knees. It was cruel to have your memories in a literal chest less than a meter away and not be able to open it.

"Whatever kid, just stop whatever you're doin' so I can leave."

He didn't even care. Dewd kidnapped someone for him, and he didn't even care. Someone lost over half of their life, had no idea who they were, and Bedlam didn't give half a shit. This, Dewd could not stand. He looked up at the mage that was supposed to help, felling nothing but rage against him. "You're not going anywhere," he whispered.

"What?"

"I said," Dewd took in a big gulf of air, "You're. Not. Going. Anywhere."

Bedlam looked at him with an alarmed expression. He he stepped away until his back was against the wall, and looked at the kid who had the dark aura exuding from his body. "Please, I just-"

"Shut up."

"I'm sorry, man, but I ca-"

"Shut up!" With that last word, the screams of hell broke lose. He released all his rage, all his anguish, onto one poor soul that failed to help him. But it didn't matter. He deserved this and worse- this is what all dark guilds deserve. So, Dewd kept on screaming, releasing all his magical energy with it.

During this, he saw too things. The first was tears running Bedlam's face as he tried to cover his bleeding ears, as well as him being pushed back against the wall by the sheer force of Dewd's sound. The second was a woman: a grotesque-looking, maniacally-smiling, woman that Dewd somehow knew that he loved. He wanted to talk to her.

So, he stopped screaming; but that broke Bedlam's spell.


	4. Chapter 4

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Mer: Narvel, Baleine

"You son of a bitch," Dewd heard. When he opened his eyes, he realized that the voice, as well as the hand around his throat, belonged the Sinister Soul's Master Helmer. "What the hell did you do?"

Dewd realized he couldn't breathe, as well as the fact that his feet were dangling in the air. That's when he focused his gaze on Helmer's unreasonably muscular arm, lifting him by the neck off the ground. Helmer's eyes, however, was the most frightening thing about the situation- his large, unblinking eyes full of rage and madness.

He tried to raise his hand- tried to use magic- but through his fading vision he saw the magic-seal-stone cuffs. "Wha-" Dewd tried to get the words out, but he couldn't even exhale.

Sensing this, Helmer threw him to the ground, knocking what little wind he had left in his lungs. "Lock 'im up!" Helmer ordered.

Dewd barely had his senses about him, but he could feel someone hoist him up. In his blurry vision, he saw it was Eggy the egg shaped man. He was thrown over Eggy's shoulder, and walked towards the same room they had taken the kidnapped girl to. For a mere few moments just before the door closed, Dewd's vision cleared, and he saw the body of Bedlam lying on the floor- thick scarlet blood gushing from his ears, nose and mouth and his eyes hanging out of their sockets like ornaments. It dawned upon Dewd that he had done this. He killed him.

In his shock and fatigue, Dewd fainted.

\--

He woke up feeling a jab on his ribs, then another. "Ah!"

"Wake up, asshole," he heard. The voice sounded familiar.

He sat up slowly, trying to massage his neck in an attempt to soothe the dull pain and oncoming bruises, but something kept his hands away. He tried to open his eyes, but even the dim torchlight made them sore. After adjusting his body, he finally took in his surroundings. He was in a cage; not a prison or cell, a literal cage. A small one at that- he could barely sit up within out tilting his head.

But he was not alone in this cage, there was a girl in a long leaf-green dress and white bandana with him.

"You done napping?" she spat, kicking him again in the stomach.

"Ah!" Dewd yelped, "Stop kicking me!"

She looked at him with such ferocity, he was glad, like him, that her cuffs were around the bars of the cage. "You **kidnapped **me and took me to a fucking **dark guild**!" She kicked him again. "Why the hell would I stop kicking you?!"

After hearing this, a wave of guilt washed over him again; he stopped trying to block her strikes and lowered his head, unable to look her in the eyes.

After about six more kicks, each one slightly weaker than the last, she retracted her leg. In a sudden burst of anger, she shook around her wrists in a useless attempt to break free. No such luck. She made another attempt, this time trying to pull her left palm out of one of the cuffs. Again, a fail, but this time with more pain. She wondered if she could break the boy's hand and have **him **bust her out. "Why're you in here anyways? Aren't you with them?"

"No." He didn't think she cared enough for him to say anything further.

"Then why the hell did you kidnap me?!" She wanted to start kicking him again.

Dewd tried to look up at her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. "I did it so one of their mages could restore my memories."

"What, you got amnesia or something?"

He finally looked at her eyes, and he still saw the fury. "A very severe case, actually."

The fury turned to curiosity, and she raised a brow for him to elaborate.

"Up until a year and a half ago, I don't remember anything."

"Nothing at all?" Curiosity turned to shock.

Dewd smiled dryly. "I woke up in Dauphin one day, and the first thing anyone ever said to me was 'Dude, nice boots'. That's been my name since: Dewd Boot."

The girl stared at him blankly for a few moments, trying to find the right words to say. After her hesitation, she landed on: "You're a fucking idiot." How could one treat his situation with care when his boots weren't even that great?

Dewd sighed in utter exhaustion. "I know." For some reason, he felt lighter. However, the guilt of putting this girl in danger still weighed on him, and he realized he was acting pathetic. He needed to help her escape. He sat straight, tilting his head against the roof, and focused on the girl. "I'm sorry I took you against your will. It was more than wrong of me. But I'm going to get you out."

She raised a brow. "If you help get me out, I'll think about not killing you." She then turned her head, but continued to eye him in suspicion. "I'm Iris, by the way."

"Good luck wi'that!" heckled their watcher, before throwing his empty glass bottle at their cage. Dewd barely had enough time to shield his eyes from the shards. "Even if ya do get outta those cuffs, no way ya can leave while **I'm **'ere!" Dewd lowered his hands, and found that outline of an egg in the darkest corner of the room. Eggy had been watching them the whole time.

"And why's that you ugly fuck?" Iris challenged. If looks could bite, Eggy would be missing an arm.

The egg walked towards them with more than a few missteps, but he landed face first into the bars of the cage. His eyes darted between his two prisoners, and strangely, his mouth began to water. "'Cause I can make ya do whatever I want."

The image of Eggy watching Dewd with a transfixed gaze replayed in the boy's mind. "That's your magic, isn't it? Mind control."

From the corner of Dewd's eye, he saw Iris immediately try to shun away. She looked infinitely more scared now.

"Not mind control," Eggy explained, "I jus' make ya do what ya subconsciously wanna do." His eyes narrowed on Dewd, eyebrows raised with a smirk emerging.

Dewd's eyed widened, filled with pure wrath. He lunged at the mage, but his shackled kept him at bay. "**You** made me take her! You forced-"

"Ah, ah," Eggy said calmly, raising his finger, "I only made ya do what you **really **wanted ta do. Not my fault." He shrugged and got his face off of the bars. After standing up, he turned around and gave a backhanded wave towards his prisoners. "I'll be back w'some more booze."

After the door closed, the two looked at each other for a few moments. "How the hell are we supposed to get out of this?" Iris asked.

Dewd scanned the area, trying to find anything he could use. The best he could do was grab a particularly sharp piece of glass from the bottle the egg had thrown and shove it in his pocket (which was no easy feat considering the position he was in). "I don't know. We just have to wait for a better opportunity."

"Some plan that is," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Maybe your guild could help us out?" Dewd offered. It seemed like a good suggestion since Iris smiled at the thought, but he got less confident when she sighed.

"Sure, they will," Iris said sarcastically, "right after I shit out the keys to these cuffs."

Suddenly, the door burst open, revealing not only Eggy, but the headmaster Helmer as well. As he walked towards the cage, with his purple robe flying behind him, he kept his eyes glued to Dewd. Dewd noticed that he looked shorter.

"I should kill you," Helmet said, kicking Dewd's side of the cage, "but my council advised against it. They seem to think that more hostages equal more ransom." He squatted down and gripped the boy's hand with his scrawny bejeweled fist. "You better hope they're right."

Helmer took off his robe, revealing a skinny and lanky figure with especially knobby elbows, and a large purple mark on his chest. It occurred to Dewd that this was Helmer's guild mark: a triangular skull engulfed in fire.

He threw the royal clothing at the egg then gripped the bars of the cage. With a large inhale, his body began to change. Under the glowing golden light of the seal above his head, his bones visibly thickened and elongated, but it was his muscle mass that really shocked the two prisoners. The flesh all over his body expanded, everywhere gaining a thick layer of muscle. His limbs looked like tree trunks, and his torso was a large intricate structure of muscle fibers. Physical Augmentation.

He lifted the cage above his head with about as much effort one would use for a bottle of beer. Both Iris and Dewd gripped the bars in hopes of minimizing the damage to themselves, but that didn't stop them from hitting their heads as well as each other

"It's time to show you off to your guild, girl," Helmer said, "We lost a member for this stupid plan might as well see it through."


	5. Chapter 5

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Mer: Narval, Baleine

Helmer, the guild master of Sinister Soul, raised the cage high above his head. "Hey Berry Balze! I caught a couple of your seeds!"

Immediately, Iris shook her head, and muttered 'lame' under her breath.

The guild was marching on the street, on their way to the Berry Blaze headquarters. The entirety of Sinister Soul was following Helmer's lead, cheering him on as he periodically raised and lowered the cage with his muscular arms- a very uncomfortable ride for it's too residents. On the pavement on either side of the street, people with frightened expressions on their faces looked on, doing nothing but hiding themselves behind their doors, windows or anything large enough to conceal their body.

Dewd couldn't blame them; he wouldn't have done anything either. Especially at this time of night.

"What the hell does he even want from that guild?" Iris whispered.

Dewd ran the basic reasons why bad people usually did anything: "Power? Money? Does Berry Blaze go after them?"

Iris looked at him incredulously. "You seriously don't know anything about this place, do you?"

Eventually, Sinister Soul, after many minutes of chanting their own name in unison, reached their destination. And **damn** did Dewd find it underwhelming. On his journey from Requin, the country over, he heard many tales about about the grand mansions built in order to commemorate their guilds in countries like Fiore in Ishagr, and what he was looking at now was a literal shack. Not even a particularly good looking shack. It was the size of an average bedroom, with four simple concrete walls and a plated roof. How could all the guild members fit in there? The only sign that it was even a guild was a banner with the Berry Blaze emblem hanging over the door, lit in the darkness by a flickering yellow light.

"Where are the berries?!" Helmer laughed. "Come out or I'll turn you all into juice!"

Iris stuck out her tongue in disgust; that sounded oddly sexual.

"Ugh," a woman said, emerging from the back of the small guild hall, "what're **you** doing here?"

She was tall- extremely tall. In fact, she was as tall as Helmer in his current magically enhanced state. She looked about middle aged, with wrinkles at the ends of her large, round eyes and thin mouth. Her hair was jet black, braided, and tied in a bun at the back of her head. She wore a loose gray jumpsuit and a white trench coat over her shoulders. Her arms were crossed, and she leaned backwards on the the guild' door. Her eyes and stance screamed nonchalance.

"If it isn't Rose Berry herself," Helmer smirked, "I caught one of your berries, woman." For dramatic effect, he dropped the cage on the floor, adding to already bruised bodies of his prisoners.

The tall woman looked down at the shackled pair, confused. She walked foreword and placed her foot on the cage, tilting it and inspecting the faces. "Which one's mine?" Dewd must have visibly looked confused, more than Iris at least; she just rolled her eyes and looked away. "Is it the boy?"

"Eh?" Helmer looked at her, dumbfounded. "You must be as stupid as you are pretty."

In no time, Berry's gaze changed from impolite disinterest to murderous, as she stepped over the cage and walked towards Helmer. Seeing the two next to each other, Dewd deducted the woman to be at least 5 cm taller. Nonetheless, she exaggerated this fact by looking down upon him. "Watch yourself, little man," she threatened, "I could take you out as easy as an ant."

In another surge of magical energy, Helmer increased his muscle mass even further. All his flesh was covered in a grotesque river of veins, and his muscles bulged in a very painful-looking way, seeming like they threatened to burst through his skin. However, he did gain well over 20 cm over the woman. "No need for fighting. I'm here to make a deal."

Berry raised an eyebrow, obviously intrigued. "A deal? Why would I make a deal with **you**?"

"Because if you don't," he pointed at Iris, "one of your berries die."

She seemed more interested in what Helmer had to say than saving Iris's life. "Well?" She raised her brow.

"We both know that this law is going to pass if those non-magics get their way. Soon, cities will turn to countries." He paused, gesturing around to the area around him. "So I'm gonna give you two choices: you either disband the guild, joining us, and releasing this girl in the process, or you don't and she dies. Which will it-"

"Join you!" Berry yelled, holding her stomach and heaving her laughter. Once she composed herself enough to speak, she talked with a large, condescending grin on her face. "You're right, Helmer. These city laws will eventually takeover Mer. But your C-class guild definitely isn't gonna make it to the top." She looked down at Iris, shackled to the iron cage. "I'm sorry, honey, but I'm not disbanding this guild. Not for anyone."

Iris, unsurprised, leaned against the bars. "Could you at least lend a hand?"

"Do that," Helmer interjected, staring at Berry, "and I'll make sure you lose that hand."

Berry shrugged and turned her back to Helmer, walking back to her guild and not glancing once at Iris or Dewd. She relaxed her back against the door and stood still.

Dewd didn't know what she was waiting for, or even if she was waiting for something, but he was too angry to care. He could understand why Berry didn't care about **him**, but Iris was part of her guild. For some reason, he had assumed a guild to be akin to a family; but from what he could see, it unmistakably wasn't. Helmer apparently had a greater sense if comradery than Berry did- at least he wanted to avenge the death of one of his guild members.

Looking back at Iris's statements about her guild, Dewd realized that she expected this to happen. And according to Helmer's expression, he expected this to some degree as well. But that didn't stop him from from being ticked off about it.

"So you're going to let her die? You're killing her," Helmer told Berry, unsatisfied with her indifference.

"Nope," Berry stated simply, "you're going to kill her. Don't try playing those mind games with me." She looked at her nails and looked happy them. "You're the one who wants her to die, and you're the one making her die." She glinted at me. "And I guess him, too, right?" She scoffed. "**So** much blood on your hands, Helmer, shouldn't you be watching how you act now that you're on the list?"

Dewd could barely hear the growl underneath Helmer's breath. At that moment, he was sure that death was eminent. He sat defeated in his confinement, because he would die without knowing who he truly was. Glancing towards Iris, he noticed that she didn't look the least bit frustrated. She focused on her wrists, as if willing them to burst.

Surprisingly, they didn't explode, but they did crack.

Dewd flinched in surprise and looked around to make sure no one else noticed. The thirty or so members of Sinister Soul all had their eyes on Berry, and she remained focused on Helmer, a smirk on her face.

"What's the matter Helmer," she teased, as if actively trying to humiliate him, "you sad that things didn't go as you wanted?"

Meanwhile, Dewd noticed that Iris was still scrutinizing her shackles, both of which continued to crack further. If he concentrated on the scene, he could hear the feint sound of a beating rock. Turning his gaze back to Berry, he noticed her briefly steal a look at Iris, as well. Was she causing this?

"Were you expecting me to just bend to your will?" Berry continued, uncaring of the increasing rage in Helmer's eyes. "You have no idea who I am."

Suddenly, Iris's shackles broke apart, which resulted in a maniacal grin on her face.

Conversely, Berry stopped smiling. "How about I show you a fraction of what I can do?"

Dewd's vision flickered, revealing a little rock golem smiling up at Iris, happily holding the broken cuffs in his hands.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Mer: Narval, Baleine

"Thanks, doll," Iris said, smiling ear to ear at the little rock golem. She lifted her hands in the air, and it was then that Dewd realized how powerful they were. Her fingers were long, strong, and radiating with magical energy. A silver seal appeared below each of her open palms, and with the dextrous movements of her fingers, she cast her spell before Helmer could utter a single curse.

The golem waved a goodbye and crumbled into pebbles, but a new one began to form. The upper roof of the cage curled backwards, detaching most of the bars from the floor. The few bars that did remain, however, bent towards the ground and pushed, essentially allowing the cage to stand on its own. Surprisingly though, the cage did not remain in this fixed position either; it walked backwards. With more movements of Iris's fingers, the cage lurched foreword and spat out its inhabitants.

"Good doll," Iris said, patting her creation on the head. The cage shuddered in appreciation.

"Is it alive?" Dewd asked, more in curiosity than confusion.

"Nah," Iris replied, "just sentient." She raised her now free hands in front of her and continued to wiggle her fingers with calculated movements. In response, the cage turned its 'face' to Dewd and used it's many teeth of steel bars to bite down on his own cuffs, breaking them, too. He got high on the sudden influx of his magical energy.

"How'd you break through the anti magic cuffs?" Dewd pestered.

Iris rolled her eyes. "Is now really the time?"

"What the hell did you do!?" Helmer asked, the blood vessels on his forehead bulging from his flesh. He advanced threateningly towards the trio, but abruptly stopped in his tracks.

Dewd found it odd that the man looked up to the sky then down to the ground several times, placing his hands in front of him and knocking the air. Ten of his guild members joined him, each placing their palms in the air and pressing them against the atmosphere but staying in place.

"What is this?!" Helmer yelled.

"Did you seriously come up to my guild without truly knowing who I am, Helmer?" Berry asked sarcastically. "That's idiotic. But I'll give you a hint: my magic let's me do whatever the hell I want."

Much to Dewd's pleasant surprise, Helmer looked scared. To make things even worse for his guild, Iris began casting another spell. She extended her fingers forward, towards helmer and his lackeys, while two seals shined under each palm. With decisive motions of her digits, the cement and gravel began to rumble.

Before long, large pieces of pavement and road combined and fused, forming a golem-like creature not unlike the one that had come to her rescue. However, where that golem was small and feeble, this one was as tall and thick as a house and looked as though it could demolish one in a single swing. The members of the dark guild looked behind with terror in their eyes.

Berry chuckled. "They think there's a wall in front of us. They don't think they can run away."

"I **did** tell them that I'd kill them," Iris smirked.

Dewd cleared his throat. "Actually, you told me that."

"Same thing."

With a twitch of her left middle finger, the monster set off against Sinister Soul. It charged at them like a gorilla, raising its fists and smashing whatever dark guild member it could reach.

Helmer and ten wizards behind him lead the assault on the creature. From the one sided barrier, Dewd saw blasts of fire, beams of ice and wave after wave of magical energy all released on the slow giant at once. It staggered backwards on its small legs, raising its arms in defense. As the wizards regrouped, the golem took its opportunity and began its simple, yet effective, attack of smashes and stomps. Out of the thirty three members of the guild, eight were severely injured, one ran away, and one was either dead or unconscious.

Twenty three to go.

"Feel free to pitch in," Iris said. Dewd noticed the beads of sweat dripping down her forehead and the slight quivering of her hands.

Berry sighed in boredom, indifference plastered on her face. "I've helped plenty." She walked towards her guild and opened the door. "You kids should clean up your own messes," she yelled, before slamming the door behind her.

The silver seals under Iris's palms began to flicker. She looked at Dewd with a fatigued expression. "Aren't you a wizard?" Her fingers still wiggled in the air, but with much less conviction, taking out two more wizards.

"I'll handle the others," Dewd said, "you should rest." Without waiting for a response, Dewd ran towards the the battle ahead.

"The wall's down!" yelled a random Sinister Soul member.

Many of the dark wizards turned in the direction of the guild, and were faced with a charging Dewd- a look of fury on his face. They took advantage of his situation- his despair- and used it for themselves. They made him kidnap an innocent person and then bargain with their freedom. Then they gave him a very painful and bothersome ride in a damn cage all the way here.

Dewd wanted to go batshit. However, Bedlam's corpse flashed in his brain, causing his face to grimace and his teeth to grind. He decided that he couldn't create anymore corpses.

Serious injuries were cool, though. With that, he removed his poncho and tossed it on an empty table in a fancy café and began he assault.

To close the distance between himself and the remaining twenty one wizards, he jumped, adding his magical energy into his muscles for extra force as well as expelling concentrated sound waves from the souls of his feet to propel himself upwards and forwards.

"You think you can take me!" Helmer screamed, his muscles and blood vessels nearly tearing his skin apart in his rage. He moved his body at a speed Dewd thought impossible, and grabbed the nearest guild member, throwing the poor, shocked man through the air directly at the incoming Dewd.

Unsurprisingly, Dewd was not prepared for this, but he retaliated accordingly. He tilted his body, directing his feet at the incoming wizard. Seconds before impact, Dewd cast his spell again, expelling sound from his feet to slow down the velocity of the projectile. What Dewd forgot, however, was that this wizard had magic if his own.

"Flash Power!" he yelled, extending his palms forward. Dewd never understood why wizards would yell their spells before casting them; it's basically warning the opponent what's about to happen.

Thus, Dewd immediately closed his eyes, but even through lidded vision, he was still blinded with a flash of bright yellow light. Dewd didn't need his sight to kick the shit out of the dark wizard, however. The man crashed on the gravel, with Dewd landing heels first into the man's chest. His ribs broke, but Dewd couldn't see the look of intense pain on his face because of the flashy spell, so he didn't care. Yet.

"Get 'im!" Dewd heard Helmer yell.

Having not recovered his sight yet, Dewd faced the ground a released an inaudible, high pitched scream. Using magic that produced sound, he learned to be quite sensitive to it.

Thus, from his sonar technique, he inferred that there were at least six people coming after him. He sighed in his anticipated exhaustion. Knowing he couldn't do anything with his now blurred vision, he aimed to keep the dark wizards at bay. So, he gulped in the surrounding air, consuming the sound around him in order to charge up his power.

He raised his arms, as well as chin, until they were parallel to the ground. Usually, he wouldn't use his powers on people so close range for fear of deafening them, but he didn't particularly care in this case. Thus, he cast his spell.

Wave after wave of sound erupted from his palms and mouth, rippling through the air in expanding rings. The sound consumed everything in its path, even Dewd. As his vision cleared, he finally saw the damage to his surroundings. The road leading to the Berry Blaze guild was now only lit by the pale moonlight, since Dewd unwittingly broke all the street lamps with his sound waves. He saw the Sinister Soul members wither in their pain at the sonic attack, as well as the scattered rubble of the mighty rock golem. Dewd glanced at Iris and realized why: his spell was affecting her, too. Obviously. She pressed her hands against her ears and stared intently back at the boy.

He broke his spell, and was immediately rammed into the gravel by what seemed like a brick wall. "You think a little scream is gonna keep me from crushing you?" Helmer asked, raising his foot and aiming his heel at Dewd's face. The boy jerked backwards just in time, his cleats only grazing his nose. Before Dewd could recover, he was hoisted up from the back of his neck. "I took pity on you," Helmer stated. He thrusted his fist into the boy's stomach. "I let you get help."

All Dewd could do was heave in a desperate attempt to breathe again. His eyes were glazed with moisture and the metallic taste of blood clung to his tongue.

"And you repay me," Helmer continued, "by making everything so fucking difficult." He raised Dewd higher in the air with a looser grip, and shot his fist directly at his eye.

The boy was launched across the road, crashing through the glass of a random wicker store, and scaring the living shit out of the woman hiding behind the counter.

Dewd's right eye was swollen shut, and the left he just didn't feel like opening. After using his magic, his energy, and his body until each was a miserable mess, he couldn't move. That's why when he heard the heavy footsteps of the Sinister Soul Guildmaster, he groaned not in pain or exhaustion, but in annoyance.

"You understand why I have to finish you, right?" Helmer stepped through the threshold of the broken window. "Reputation. It's all about reputation."

Dewd lazily opened his left eye, but he didn't need it to know what was about to happen. He could already feel Helmer's hand wrapping its fingers around his throat. Why was it that Helmer never lets him breathe?

"It's reputation, and the fact that you're really pissing me off."

Dewd awaited the blows to come, but they never did. He squinted his eyes opened and noticed why: his poncho was wrapping itself around Helmer's face like fabric snake. The oddest part was that the clothing had a smiling face plastered right on it, looking at Dewd with glee.

"What the fuck?" Dewd tried to say, but what came out was a muffled cough. Helmer, however, was reciting the entire dictionary of profanities. The boy managed to sit up with the little energy he had left, and scanned the area for an explanation. Eventually, he got one, and smiled in his admiration.

A few meters back stood Iris, with her ten fingers poking and prodding the silver seals at her palms in a powerful dance, bringing life to the piece of clothing and directions on what to do. Apparently, what she wanted her clothe doll to do was suffocate Helmer.

In the first few moments, Dewd's poncho seemed to be winning, but after the initial shock, Helmer regained the upper hand. He grasped at the fabric's ends and pulled outwards, ripping it across the middle. It was at the moment that Dewd struck his opponent.

He launched himself off the ground, aching his already wounded legs, and landed on the Guildmaster's shoulders. He couldn't help but feel angry: that poncho had been with him for as long as he could remember- literally.

"You didn't help with shit!" Dewd yelled. He could feel the sensation again, the same one he felt with Bedlam- a vibration starting at the base of his throat. "You were just trying to get ahead- that's all everyone does!" His eyes were wild with rage, dripping with tears. He punched Helmer the face, but knew that it probably hurt him more than it did Helmer. "So, fuck you."

Dewd inhaled a deep breathe, then screamed, letting the stimulating sensation spread throughout his chest and face. The boy could see the waves of flesh rippling across Helmer's face, as well as his teeth grinding in pain. His yelps and screams didn't matter at that moment, only Dewd's.

When he finished his spell, helmer was bleeding from his ears and nose, but he still wasn't dead. So, Dewd reached into his pocket, got out the shard of broken glass, and plunged it into the man's neck.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Mer: Narval, Baleine

Dewd froze as the blood sprayed like a fountain on his face. Helmer's eyes were filled with mix of emotions: anger, confusion, shock. But what struck Dewd the most was the fear. He was supposed to care- supposed to care that it was his fault that the man in front of him was terrified because of him, and was dying because of him. But he couldn't bring himself to do so. He could barely remove his hand from the jagged piece of glass that he slashed across Helmer's neck.

Helmer's skin glowed dimly, and he began to deflate. His muscles rapidly reduced in bulk, and his limbs and extremities shortened to their normal size. He was once more the skinny man that Dewd forgot he was. The Guildmaster held his neck tightly in a futile attempt to stop the flow of blood. He reached out to Dewd with his other hand, weakly squeezed his neck, then fell backwards. After a few moments, he went limp.

Dewd looked up from the body and saw a strained, plain look on Iris's face. He wondered if he had the same expression on his own face.

A handful of the wizards from Sinister Soul still conscious looked at the scene with horror at their master's body. One brave Soul walked towards the two winners of the battle, raising his arms in surrender. Dewd couldn't do anything to him even if he wanted to. The Soul gripped his Master's arm and dragged him away, followed swiftly by six or seven other members.

Dewd looked around; the rest were either too injured to move or knocked unconscious.

"We should go," Iris said, snapping Dewd out of his thoughts, "to the police I mean." Her eyes were blanker than normal.

Dewd nodded his head. He tried to get up, but his legs buckled half way and he dropped back to the ground. He knees landed in the blood.

"Let me help," Iris offered, stepping away from the puddle of blood wrapping Dewd's arm around her shoulders. She pursed her lips when the boy's bloody hand rubbed against her shoulder.

After steadying their walk, Rose Berry came into view, her white coat held loosely by her forearm and flapping on the wind. "Fuck," she said, "this's goin' to be so much paperwork." She dug out and lit a cigarette from her pocket, and took a long swig before she walked towards the limping duo.

\--

After giving their statements to the police, which were confirmed by many eye witnesses, including Berry herself, the two wizards were let go. After their release, Dewd and Iris walked out of Narval's police station (annoyingly, not too far away from Greenfield Fortress). According to the police, they weren't liable for the property damage or injuries they caused since their stories alined with self-defense and were released with no charges.

The two wizards waited outside the building for Berry as per her instruction.

"Do you know what she wants?" Iris asked. She held herself in her usual bold stance, but her eyes hadn't regained their sharpness.

Dewd shook his head. "I don't know." The police had given him a towel to wipe his face, but his shirt and pants were still stained with both his blood and- "He's obviously dead, right?" he suddenly asked. "I killed him?"

Iris stiffened, but held her gaze when she looked at Dewd. "Yeah, he's dead. And yeah, you killed him."

"Right," Dewd agreed his voice quiet. He wasn't sure what he felt about her answer. He wasn't sure how to feel about a lot of things that happened throughout the day. "When we were in the cage, how did you cast your spell on that rock?" Dewd suddenly remembered.

Iris smirked proudly. "It wasn't a normal spell, it was a charm. I don't need to keep putting magic into it."

A whistle sounded, grabbing the duo's attention. They turned to see Berry walking out of the police station and towards to road leading to her guild. Her back turned towards them, she signaled for them to follow. The two young wizards reluctantly did so, unsure of whether they trusted the woman or not.

"So," Berry began, doing her hair in a tight bun atop her head, "they're gonna try to go after the remaining Sinister Soul members, but you guys made sure that there aren't many more, eh?" She smiled darkly. "Which brings me to my next point: you joining my guild."

"Join you?" Dewd scoffed.

"I'm already in your damn guild," Iris added.

Berry chuckled. "Yeah, well you're welcome to stay. Both of you are good with what you've got. I want some potential powerhouses in my guild when everything goes down the way it will." She lit another cigarette and took in a long breathe. "You guys should do it, too. It's not easy being a wizard without a guild."

Dewd wasn't exactly sure he was listening to her offer.

Iris didn't skip a beat. "Yeah, fuck that. I'll take my chances on my own."

Berry scoffed at the girl, looking down at her incredulously. "Last time you were on your own, black-eye over here kidnapped you."

Dewd suddenly realized the sharp pain in his right eye, and couldn't bring himself to touch the soar spot.

"Yeah, well, I'm not gonna be part of a guild who doesn't give a shit about me," Iris spat back.

"I hid your little dolly when it helped you," Berry retorted, rolling her eyes at the temperamental girl.

"And what if I hadn't cast the spell earlier?"

Berry pondered for a moment, then landed on: "Yeah, I would have probably left you."

Iris bit back her next comment and glared at the woman. She turned around, glanced at Dewd who was staring intently back at her, and walked away angrily. She was out of sight in a mere thirty seconds.

"What an idiot," Berry said, taking a swig of her cigarette. "What about you, black-eye?"

Dewd's head snapped towards Berry's, and he looked up at her questioning eyes. He remembered how Iris had talked about her guild earlier. Back then, he thought what she said was out of faith in her guild, now he realizes that it was the exact opposite. Not that he was an expert, but weren't guilds supposed to make its wizards feel safe? "You only want me 'cause of what I can do. How does that make you any different from Sinister Soul? A dark guild?"

Berry furrowed her eyebrows and grimaced. "**Don't** compare me to that C-class guild. **Don't** forget that I helped save your life." Berry relaxed her face and sighed. "With what's happening in Mer, you'll want me as much as I want you."

Dewd cocked his head to one side, but didn't care for asking her to persist. He needed to be done with this whole mess. "I'm not going to join you."

Berry rolled her eyes and turned around, throwing her cigarettes to the ground and crushing it with her feet. "Do what you want, even if it's wrong. Anyway, my offer still stands; tell that girl, too." She began to walk along the road, but suddenly turned to look at Dewd with unconcerned eyes. "And by the way, Sinister Soul was a legal guild."

\--

The bell chimes as the door to the diner opens. Dewd walks into 'Dine at Don's' with the intention of filling the waiting position as per the ad he found on the bulletin board of the building he had been sleeping behind. Having spent his last Jewel two days ago, he was getting hungry, and a diner seemed like the best place to work and refuel. He just hoped that they offer free meals.

He had no idea where to go or who to talk to for the job opening, so he walked towards the counter and waited. "Someone will be rIght with you, honey," said a waitress, pouring Dewd a complimentary glass of water. He chugged it down the second the waitress looked away.

He needed a job to save enough money for a journey back to Dauphin, the country where he woke up without his memories. At least there he had some connections that could keep him alive for a while.

"It's you," said a familiar voice. Dewd looked up from his empty glass and immediately recognized the sharp gray eyes.

"Iris," Dewd replied. He didn't feel like that was much of a greeting. "Good morning," he added. She wore the staff uniform of a red blouse and skirt with a white apron around her waist. She held a small booklet and pen in her hands.

Iris stared at him quizzically for a moment, shrugged it off, then returned the greeting. "What brings you here?" She asked.

"A job opening," he stated a little too quickly, holding up the newspaper clipping that referred him here. He didn't want her to think that he would kidnap her again.

Iris squinted at the piece if paper and chuckled. "That ad was posted a month ago. The job's filled." She clicked her pen aimlessly as she spoke.

Dewd stared at her, feeling embarrassed. His cheeks reddened in frustration as he retracted his hand back into its pocket. "Too bad," he said, trying to hold his composure. He groaned in disappointment, and his stomach growled in hunger. "Maybe I should kill them and take the job," he joked.

Iris chuckled again and leaned foreword on the counter, crossing her arms, now face-to-face with Dewd. "Then I guess it'd be the second time I almost get killed 'cause you got involved."

Dewd smiled in surprise. "Almost worked the first time, too. Congrats on the job."

"Thanks, I'm living my dream," she said, stretching her neck. "Life's tough for a wizard without a guild. People aren't too keen on hiring us 'destructive' types."

"I guess Berry had a point. Maybe we shouldjoin her guild, after all."

"Even with this shit pay, I'd never go back to that even shittier-guild," she said quietly. "Why don't **you** join them, anyway? Or any other guild? There're tons in Baliene."

Dewd thought it over for a few moments. "I don't like being forced to serve a guild just 'cause I joined it," he shook his head, "maybe I just have to find the right one."

Iris nodded her head in understanding. She stood straight and lifted the pen and pad. "Maybe you should start your own guild."


	8. Chapter 8

Part 1: A Devil Reaping Souls

Mer: Narval, Baleine

"What?" Dewd asked, surprised by the idea.

Iris shrugged. "I mean, you could. A lot 'a wizards are doing it these days; they're trying to get as many jobs as they can."

"Why?"

Iris stole a glance at the man at the registerer, who was busy dealing with a customer. She stuffed her pen and pad in her apron's pocket and grabbed Dewd's hand, quickly leading him through the diner's kitchen and out the back door. "The manager's a real drag about chit chat on work hours." She and Dewd emerged in the back alleyway, with large garbage cans on either side of the door.

"Remember that argument Berry had with that dark guild's master?" Iris asked. "Something about a law?"

Dewd thought about it, and nodded with the vague memory he recalled, along with the extremely vivid one of Helmer's open neck.

"I went and searched it up. They were talking about something that's been cookin' up for a while."

"What?"

"This law is gonna pass in three weeks time, and at that point, it'll be illegal for there to be more than one guild in the same city- no matter how small."

Dewd scratched his head, looking at her in confusion. "That doesn't sound too bad, I guess. It might make things more orderly."

"That may be true," Iris chuckled, "but the laws'll just keep coming after that. This one's just to get the ball rolling, it's been said that half a year after that, it'll be illegal for more than one guild to exist in the same country."

That revelation hit Dewd like a train. Baliene's huge, the biggest country in Mer; there has to be at least a couple of hundred guilds here **alone**. If this law passes, thousands of guilds will be wiped off the continent. "Why the hell would they do that?"

Iris shrugged. "I honestly have no idea. You could make a good guess by looking at what we did a week ago- our fight with Sinister Soul." She finally made eye contact with the boy, but her gaze was regretful. "We wrecked the whole area."

A scene of the destruction the fight had caused flashed in the boy's mind, and he too looked crestfallen. The roads, signs and shops they had inadvertently demolished meant nothing to them, but it sure as hell meant something to the people who had to live with it. His soar eye began to go numb. "And we weren't liable for the property damage."

"I guess some people wanna change that." A minute of silence passed before Iris spoke again. "By the way, I've been wondering, the magic you use- it's a devil slayer magic, isn't it?"

Dewd looked at her curiously. No one had ever really inquired about his magic before; he had barely showed it to anyone since he learnt how to use it. "Yeah it is," he answered, unsure whether it was a good or bad thing. He wouldnt be surprised if the whole 'devil' part threw her off. Considering that he killed two people within the span of two days, she was probably relieved for the two week span since they separated.

"That's a lost magic, isn't it? That's pretty cool." Dewd was shocked that she actually smiled at him. "I could tell 'cause of the way your face turns, you know, pitch black. Who the hell taught you?"

The boy shrugged, shaking his head. He never really thought about it anyway.

"Oh, right, I forgot about the whole amnesia thing." She winced, probably after realizing that she referred to his life altering condition as a 'thing'.

"That's OK, I forgot a lot of things," Dewd joked.

Iris snorted, and actually looked pleased. "That was a bad joke," she claimed, but her smirk told him otherwise. "You seriously don't remember a single thing?"

"I remember a handful of images, some faces," Dewd replied casually, "but it's like trying to remember a dream." Dewd didn't feel up for talking about it. "What kind of magic do you use? It looks really powerful."

Iris's face lit up, like she had never gotten that compliment before. "Oh, it is! It's called Marionette Magic; I can basically make anything nonhuman into my personal puppet."

Dewd thought that sounded terrifying. "That sounds really cool."

A few seconds of awkward silence passed, filled only with Dewd's shuffling feet and Iris pretending to fix her hair. "So, uh, Dewd, I gotta get back to work," she finally said, "but, if you want, come by at six o'clock, I get off then. I can show you some places that are hiring."

"What?" Considering he kidnapped her, it was kind of hard to believe. "Are you serious?"

"Yeah," she said, adjusting her apron, "it's no trouble." She walked towards the door and swung it open. "Six o'clock. If you're late, I'm leaving without you."

"Uh, alright," Dewd managed to stay, but the door was already shut. So, he stood there alone, shocked at what Iris's news, confused at her offer, and excited to take her up on it. After eight days of only his thoughts for company, he was glad to spend some time with an actual person.

\--

The next morning, he woke up on a couch. After rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stretching his back, he realized what was wrong with the picture. Why the fuck was he on a couch? He usually slept in a sleeping bag he stole from outside Greenfield Fortress. Even stranger, he was sleeping **indoors**. He jolted upwards, every impulse telling him to run out the door, but he was too curious about his situation. How did he get here? Why the fuck does his head feel like it was stabbed **everywhere**?

What freaked him out was that he couldn't exactly recall. He remembered yesterday's morning pretty well, but after he met up with Iris at the diner as planned... things got blurry.

"Ugh," he heard, coming from behind the couch. Hesitantly, he checked the source, only to find his companion from last night.

"Iris?" he asked, confused as to why she was bundled up in three different blankets on the floor.

She immediately raised her finger towards him. "Sh," she sounded, "stop being so loud." She groggily opened her eyes, and then looked at him with the rage that he knows her by. "How come you got the couch?" She slowly sat up, rubbing her back. "I hate sleeping on the floor."

"Uh, about that," Dewd began, "who's floor is this? I mean, who's apartment?"

"Mine, dummy," she said, "don't you remember?"

The boy stared at her blankly. "Uh, no?"

She snorted. "Is that another amnesia joke?" She waited for a response, and when she got none she snorted even louder. "You really can't handle your liquor, dude."

Liquor? **Liquor**. Moments from yesterday flashed in Dewd's mind. They went to a bar last night, so he could apply for a bar-tending job there, but how could he have afforded any drinks?

Iris noticed the look in his eyes, and decided to fill the blanks that she could. "The owner of the bar was the porn producer I worked with; he didn't want me to sue him for getting kidnapped under his watch; he offered us some free bottles, blah blah blah." She stood up against the will of her body, and Dewd noticed she still wore her waitress uniform.. "Not that hard to figure out what happened after that." She smirked at him.

"It looks like you got a tattoo," Dewd said, pointing at her forearm.

"No, I didn't," she said, glancing at her arm. Her eyes widened, and she began rubbing at the spot with the black sigil. "No, I didn't," she repeated, "you did!"

"What? Where?" He scanned his arms but saw nothing, then noticed Iris pointing at her throat, and his jaw dropped. "On my neck?!" His own voice made his head ache.

"Oh my God, they're matching," Iris said, her voice fading, "I have a matching tattoo with a kidnapper- **my** kidnapper!."

Dewd focused on Iris's forearm, trying to understand the design of the mark. It looked like a simple eye illustration, with two separate lines curving towards each other, and a circle between them. It was like a thirteen year old picked it out.

"Wait, there's something in my pocket," Iris said, digging out a folded sheet of paper. She flattened the sheet and darted her eyes across it, her face growing more and more confused by the second. "These aren't tattoo's, Dewd." She handed him the paper. "They're guildmarks."

Dewd felt dizzy. After everything that's happened with the stupid guild politics of last week, with visions dead bodies blurring his eyes, he wanted nothing to do with guilds anymore. "Which guild?" He asked, wishing to all the gods that it wasn't anyone illegal.

Iris looked at him plainly, almost like she couldn't believe it. "Our guild."

Dewd read the paper, which he realized was a Guild Registration Form, and confirmed what she said. Under 'Guildmasters', he read Iris Bow and Dewd Boot. They started a guild.

"Fuck," Dewd said, reading and rereading the sheet. "Fuck," he repeated. Then, he **really **thought about it, and his look of worry began to fade, and was replaced with a small smile. "This is great."

He looked at Iris, who stared at him incredulously, no doubt running the idea over in her head. Her gaze softened, and her lips grinned. "Fuck," she said, "it **is**."

End of Part 1


End file.
